Brick-kiln.



H. 0. ROBINSON & c. STEADMAN; 5

.BRICK KlLN. I APPLICATION man APR. I7, 1m.

Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

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H..0. ROBINSON & C. STE ADMAN;

BRICK KILN. v APPLICATION FILEDAPRpIY, 19H.

- Patented Jan. 18,1916.

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HENRY O. ROBIN SQN, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS, AND CHRISTOPHER STEADMAN,

OF HUG-UENO'I PARK, NEW YORK.

BRICK-KILN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Fatented J an. 18, 1916.

Application filed April 17, 1911. Serial No. 621,672.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY O. ROBINSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brookline, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, and CHRISTOPHER STEADMAN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Huguenot Park, in the county of Richmond and State of New York, have invented .an Improvement in Brick-Kilns, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

The general object of the invention is to provide a. brick-kiln structure in which the burning of bricks may be carried on to considerable practical advantage with a forceddraft fire. The use of a forced-draft in brick-kilns enables cheaper grades of fuel to be employed and reducesthe time required for a burining; but, heretofore, attempts to use forced draft furnaces in brick-kilns have generally failed because it was impossible to produce a uniform burning throughout the kilns, whereby a considerable loss would result from overburning or underburning or both. NVe have discovered that by constructing the kiln and supplying the draft thereto in such a way that the fires are always under complete control, we are able to secure a uniform burningthroughout the kiln and to effect the burning with greater economy of fuel, time and percentum of perfectly burned brick than has been possible heretofore under any method or practice with which we are familiar.

An important element in controlling the fires of forced-draft brick-kilns we have found to reside in their freedom from what we may call draft-leakage. Where, for instance, the draft can work its way through the sides or bottom of the fire-box, an in- 0 determinate and varying amount will find v its way through the fuel-bed with the result that anything like an accurate control is out of the question. Moreover, when a leak commences, it usually increases owing to the penetrating nature of the mixture of air and steam which is usually employed to produce the draft. For this reason the bottom and sides of the fire-box, in order to secure the best results, mustbe impervious. We have already pointed this out in our. Letters Patent No. 971mg of October 4, 1910, where we called attention to the importance of making the ashpit tight. In the present case, we have the same ends in view, but have simplified the structure considerably, doing away, for instance, with the grate and distributing the draft by means of a relatively long perforated conduit, preferably removable and portable, over and upon which the fuel is piled; and have otherwise improved said structure as will hereinafter appear.

In the'accompanying drawings, to which we may now refer for an understanding of the invention in detail, Figure 1 is a plan view of the floor of a portion of a kiln embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is 'a sectional view upon a larger scale, the plane of section being indicated by the line 22 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar view, the planehofsection being indicated by the line 33 in Fig. 1. Fig. i is a plan view of the draft supply pipe, and, Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken through the perforated portion of said pipe, on a plane indicated by the line 55 in Fig. 3.

The bed of the improved kiln, that is the part which may or may not be composed of the green brick being burned but which will generally be a permanent structure, comprises as shown, a floor a which presents a plurality of rows of chambers or. depressions b constituting the fire-boxes, with front and back walls 0 at the outer ends of the fire-boxes; and with, which are employed means or mechanism for supplying and distributing the forced-draft to the fuel bed. The Floor a is preferably constructed from burnt bricks laid in cement mortar which provides a practicable air and water-tight structure. The latter may be about 18 inches deep and 14 inches wide, dimensions which have been found to work well in practice, although, of course, those proportions may be varied; and they may extend completely across the kiln, or only part way as shown in the drawing. In the present case, the inner ends of these fire-boxes taper off or are stepped about one-third way in of the kiln from either side, their bottoms thus gradually rising to the level of the kiln floor. As many fire-boxes may be used as are required to effect the burning. It has been found in practice that with the average clays, it is sufi'icient to arrange the fire-boxes of the above-named dimensions about 34 inches apart, whereby a wall of green brick, of about four 8-inch. bricks in thickness arranged-lengthwise, may be placed between adjacent fire-boxes. green brick about the fire-boxes to form the arches above the fire-boxes, the green brick are preferably set back an inch or. so from the edges of the fire-boxes in order to give them a firm rest upon the kiln floor. After the arches are formed the rest of the green brick is piled in the ordinary manner.

Extending along the center of the bottom of each depression or fire-box b for nearly its entire length is a perforated conduit or 'pipe 03, preferably removable and portable, the perforatedportion of which may rest upon the bottom of the closed portion ofwhich projects from the fire-box and is preferably upturned with its free open end e removed from the fire-box door f. Into this open end of the pipe d an injector g isarran'ged to deliver steam in I order to entrain air and. produce a forceddown upon the bottom of the fire-box, pre-- draft, and the steam may be supplied from a suitable sourcethrough a pipe h to the.

several injectors g. The upwardly project-. ing end of the pipe d is preferably offset so as not to come directly in front of the firebox door, and the space between said pipe, where it projects from thefire-box, and the fire-box door is preferably filled with brick and. clay toform a' tight closure.

While the conduit cl may be constructed in various ways it is preferably embodied in a pipe having a perforated portion d which is arranged along the bottom of the fire-box, and an angular portion d which is exterior .to the fire-box. sists of a section which is bent in a horizon' This angular portion contal plane at substantially right angles to the perforated portion and then bent again in a vertical plane at substantially right-angles to itself. In this way, the pipe is provided with anfupwardly extending portion having a free open end 6 into which steam may be delivered to entrain air and create a forced draft, and with a means of maintaining the pipe in its proper position as'it rests down bottom of the fire box. The lattion of the pipe which, as the pipe rests vents it from twisting and turning. This is I quite important,

' perforations in the are preferably provided, as shown, in the lower part of the pipe on each side; and if the pipe twisted or turned,these perforations would become displaced- In forming the pipe, they are preferably arranged nearer together at the outer end of the fire-box in order to provide suificient heat at this portion of the fire-box to offset the loss due to radiation. Th e end of the perforated portion of the pipe 1s closed, and for this purpose may be qpounded down to a chisel edge as shown. he angle sections of the pipe may And in laying the.

fire-box and the because the'perforati ons d project be formed in any suitable way as by providing elbows at these points rather than by actual bending.

.In the openend of thepipe, formed a notch e to receive and steady the steam injector pipe, as shown in-the dotted lines. This steam injector pipe connects with a suitable steam main, indicated at I;

that the upwardly projecting end of the pipe there is in Figs. 1 and 3, It will be seen, moreover,

into which the steam is delivered fromthe I injector, is that it vdoes not interfere, as was stated above with the free access to the fire-box through the fire-box .door f. It will also be seen that the open end of the pipe, into which the steam delivers and 'entrains the air, is removed fromj'the fire-box door and hence the liability of entraining ashes from the fire-box to clog thedraft producing aparatus is remote.

The fuel-bed is piled upon the portion of the pipe which thus serves to distribute the'draft throughout the body of the fuel. It will be obvious that the improved, pipes are readily in'sertible into and removable from the fire-boxes and offer a very ready and convenient means of applying a forced-draft to almost any kiln. They may be easily. constructed and are convenientto ship whereby'they constitute a very useful and simple element for this purpose.

In accordance with our invention, as hereinbefore disclosed, we provide in combination with means to supply steam or other gas-under pressure a portable draft supply pipe' operatively related to -set forth, means are arranged relatively to the perforated portion of the pipe .to cause the pipe, when placed upon the fuel support, to positionitself,'thereby' to bring about a predetermined relation of the perforations thereof tothe fuel.

It will beevidentfrom the foregoing description that wehave provided a brick kiln containing in combination a fire chamber having a fuel support therein,an elongated, hollow draft device having a downwardly facing, exposed, under. side with downwardly v side beneath overlying portions of said device,"such device chamber and above'sa-id fuel position as to become embedded. in thefuel deposited in said fuel support, means being alsopro'vided, as he'reinbefore set forth, to the? necessary 'air for combustion through port and into said orifices toward said fuel supthe fuel-underlying portions oifset by means of the angles so perforated support in such of said draft device, thereby to promote combustion of said fuel without blowing out the top of said fuel. The fire chamber is provided with a firing door to permit fuel to be deposited therein above the draft device. Preferably also we project the necessary air to effect free and complete combustion.

In the disclosed and preferred embodi ment of our invention, we provide a series of-fire chambers, each communicating with the interior of the kiln and each having a door opening to the exterior of the kiln, an

imperforate fuel support and an'elongated,

hollow draft device havinga downwardly facing, exposed, under side with downwardly directed draft orifices as heretofore fuel on said support to promote combustion thereof without blowing objectionable holes in its surface. Preferably we project the necessary air for free and complete combustion for this purpose. It is desirable to have the orifices on the under side of the draft supply pipes as distinguished from having them on the side thereof; since if a 'jet oft-air or steam issues from the side, it

would not be scattered and go up, dissemi-- nated through the fuel. Furthermore, unless the draft pipes were'embedded in the fuel, said pipes, when the draft is acuttoff preliminary to stopping the furnace, thus stopping the entrance of cold air into the pipes and thus preventing the coolfng of the same by the air, would become so heatedas to be destroyed unless made of the best heatresisting metal, which is more or less eX- pe nsive, whereas if said draft pipes were em-. bedded in the fuel, the excessiye. heating of the pipes would be largely prevented, espe cially if the air be discharged downwardly and below the main of the fuel and percolate through the interstices between the particles of coal and around the outside of the draft pipes.

The manner of operating the improved kiln is much the same aswas described with reference to our kiln shown in the Letters Patent above referred to. The fires are started, fed and regulated as there set forth. In the present case. the fuel covers and rests directly upon the pipe /l which is emlw'dded. as it were, in the body of fuel (indicated at i, Fig. 2), the latter being replenished as it burns away by piling on more fuel until, if required, the fuel reaches nearly to the top of the fire-box. It is obvious that in some cases it may be preferable to bank I ashes or the like over the pipe (Z and then a pply the. green coal above the ashes, all of which is immaterial to the present inventionj It will be observed, by reference more pan ticularly to Fig. 2 of the drawing, that the draft delivered to the bed of fuel in direction away from that of the draft exit which takes place herein up through the. fuelbed, through the arches, and into the kiln. The fuel support, in the present case, is constituted by the bottoms of the lireboxes I); but it is immaterial What the nature of the fuel-support.is or whether it is imperforate or not, so long as the draft delivered relative to the fuel'body as herein forth. In any case, the draft would be delivered in the same way, namely, by projecting the same from a plurality of points between thefuel, supports and the normal level of the fuel and in a direction away from or opposite to that of the draft exit.

This direction of draft delivery will, in general, be downward as in the case of Fig. 2

of the drawing; and the draft thus delivered will be distributed uniformly throughout the whole fuel-body. It will not shoot through the top thereof in spots, burning out these spots and leaving other spots par tially or wholly unburned, but will do its' work uniformly and thoroughly. Moreover, V

in the preferred construction the draft cannot pass out through the sides of the firespaces because the side Walls thereof are draft-proof, as before explained; and hence,

even when the fuel becomes banked for a considerable depth over the draft delivery pipe and constitutes a considerable obstruction to the passage of the draft, as where very fine fuel is employed, the draft nevertheless. can find no path of least resistance through the side walls and hence must pass up through the body of the fuel. It will be obvious that as the burning proceeds, this 7 1 body of fuel will contain a great deal of ashes and unburnt matter, all of whichwill be understood as being referred to when the terms fuelbody, fuel-mass, or fuel are used herein.

'0 claim as our invention:

1. In a brick kiln, the combination with a fuel-support, of downwardly delivering draft means arranged above the same but below the normal level of fuel thereon so as tobe covered by the fuel, whereby the draft may be delivered within the fuel mass and in a direction toward said fuel-support.

2. In a. brick kiln, the combination with the arches, of a fuel-space at the end of each arch and below the same, a pipe running l along the bottom of each fuel-space so as fire-arch of a fuel-space therefor, draftproof walls on each side of said fueLspace, and means supported at the bottom of said fuel-space and provided with openings to.

deliver a forced-draft thereto in "a downward direction.

' 4.1n a brick'kiln, the combination with a fire-arch a fuel-space therefor, draftp'roof walls on each side of said fuel-space,

and a pipe supported at the bottom of said fuel-space and provided with openings to deliver a forced-draft thereto in a down wa'rd'direction;

5,111 a brick' kiln, the combination with the arches, of a fuel-space at the end of 83011 arch and below-the same and having drafttight side walls, a pipe supported upon the bottom of each fuel-space and having openings'to deliver downwardly into said fuel.- space.

6. A brick kiln having a floor formed witha plurality of gratoless depressions to constitute the fire-boxes, and a pipe lying along the bottom of each depression adapts ed to supply a forced-draft thereto, the,

, bricks to be burned being laid upon the floor to form arches above the said depressions respectivelv.

7,; brick kiln having a permanent floor structure formed with a plurality of rows of grateless depressions the side walls of which are air-tight, and means along the bottom v of each such depression to supply a forced-1 draft, the bricks to be burned being laid upon the floor to form arches above the depressions respectively.

8. A brick kiln having a permanent floor structure formed witha plurality of rows of depressions the bottoms and side walls of which are air-tight, and a pipe lying centrallyalong the bottom of eachdepression adapted to "supply a forced-draft thereto,

the bricks to be burned being laid uponthe floor to form arches above said depressions respectively; p

9. A brick kiln containing in combination, a fire chamber having a fuel support therein, an elongated, hollow, draft device'having a downwardly facing, exposed, under side with downwardly directed draft orifices'in 'saidunder'side beneath overlying portions "of said device, said device beingsupported .in said chamber and above said fuel support in suchposition as to become embedded in the fuel deposited on said. fuel support, said chamber having a firing door to permit fuel to be deposited therein abovepsaiddraft device, and means to project necessary air for I free and complete combustion through said orifices toward said fuel support and int support,

thef fuehunderlying portions 0f i said craft device, thereby to promote free anticomplete combustion of said fuel without blow ing out the top of said: fuel.

10. A brick kiln comprising in combination, a series of fire chambers, each communicating with the interior of the kiln and each having a door openingto the exterior V of the kiln, an imperforate fuel'support, an

elongated, hollow, draft device having a downwardly facing, exposed under side with; downwardly directed, draft orifices 1n said under side beneath overlying. portions of said device, said devicebeing supported in said chamber above but adjacent to the im perforate fuel support, and means to pro ect having a downwardly facing'exposed under side with d'ownwardly directed draft orifices in said under side beneath overlying portions of said device, said device being supported in said chamber and above said fuel support in SuClfPQSltlOn as to' become embedded in the fuel deposited in said fuel support, and means to project necessary air for combustion through said orifices toward said fuel support andinto the fuel underlying portions of said draft device, thereby topro- 'mote combustion of said fuelwithout blowing out the top of said fuel.

12. In a brick kiln, the combination with means to supply steam or other gas under pressure, of a portable draft supply pipe operatively related thereto to receive said air.

or other gas and arranged to be removable therefrom at will and transferred to another kiln, the said pipe having a perforatedportion for embedment in the fuel and means arranged relatively to the perforated portion to cause the said pipe, when placed upon the fuel support, to position itself thereby to bring about a predetermined relation ofperforations to fuel. r

This specification signed and witnessed this 25th day of March, A. D. 1911.

HENRY O. ROBINSON. CHRISTOPHER STEADMAN. Signed in the presence of J OHN lV. TrroMPsoN',

LUCIUS L. VARNEY. 

